This invention relates to disposable or reusable containers for flowable products, for example products in powdered, granular or liquid form which containers are made from a single stiff but flexible flat blank of coated carton material formed by using a shaped blank which is folded on itself to form an inwardly bulging center section or bottom and oppositely bulging side sections which are joined on their opposite edges and flanges to form a fluid tight connection and in such a manner that at least at one location the superimposed side edges and flanges provide spaced coacting walls defining a discharge opening extending into a separable tongue normally closed which can be torn or cut to define a dispensing outlet for dispensing the flowable products stored in a given disposable or reusable container.
Such containers are known in the prior art as is shown in DE OS No. 31 43 671. These containers have been successful either as disposable containers or as reusable containers where only a portion of the flowable product is dispensed from time to time.
For persons handicapped with manual or hand problems who need to utilize the flowable products in such containers, for example as a medicament or under conditions which require that the container be opened relatively rapidly for example, when the container contains a special drink for an athlete which must be consumed while the athlete is running in a race or otherwise, the prior art containers are not suitable, or are suitable only to a limited extent because the relatively small separable tongue on such containers require a certain degree of skill and force in order to form the dispensing outlet for the container an this is true even when notches are provided to assist tearing off of the separable tongue on such containers. Handicapped persons or athletes participating in running events do not have the required skill and force necessary to meet the requirements of tearing the prior art tongues in order to establish the dispensing outlet for the containers.
Further, the assistance of a tool such as a pair of scissors cannot be used by the handicapped persons or is not readily available to an athlete in a running event.
Comparable containers are known in the prior art which are provided with a decanting outlet having a screw or the like type of cap as a closure member for such decanting outlet. However, even with such prior art devices the problem is the same for persons with manual handicaps because very often they cannot open such a screw cap or the like closure or can only open the same with great difficulty. Further, however, such an additional closure means increases the cost of manufacture and renders such containers expensive so that they are not suitable commercially as disposable containers.